“To a man today, we were fantastic”: Jim Bentley congratulates Morecambe squad
Jim Bentley was a happy man after picking up his first win since returning to Morecambe with Saturday’s convincing 4-0 victory over Eastleigh.
Four goals from four different players – Miguel Azeez, Jack Nolan, Lewis Payne and Chris Popov – along with a first clean sheet in 11 games gave the Shrimps a vital win.
They also set a standard that Bentley says he expects from his side for the rest of the season.
He said: “To a man today, we were fantastic. We had some strong words this week after our heavy defeat at Southend, which was a horror show, and I certainly got a response today.
“Four goals from four different players and a clean sheet made it pretty much a perfect day for us – and it was great to see the smiles back on the fans’ faces at the end of the game.
“We had a really positive week in training and worked on a lot of things, and you could see that work pay off today.
“We told the lads they had to work much harder out of possession, press more effectively and be smarter at set pieces – and that shone through.
“Today we got our crosses in, we looked good on the counter-attack and there was a huge desire to keep a clean sheet at the end.
“That’s exactly what we need everyone to do. We have to die for the cause and we did that today.
“We set a standard today that we need to maintain week in week out and see where that takes us.”